Bato’s lobby

That New Bilibid inmates in Muntinlupa City are responsible for the rampant drug distribution in Cebu province is a moot and obvious point made by Director General Rogelio “Bato” dela Rosa of the Bureau of Corrections (Bucor) during his recent visit to Cebu.

Anyone who managed to keep tabs on the war against illegal drugs in this part of the country knows that alleged drug lord Alvaro “Barok” Alvaro remains alive and well at the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC).

It’s not hard to presume, based on the number of cell phones seized during Operation Greyhound conducted by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) that he continues to do business with his customers and suppliers.

One of these suppliers and customers may very well come from the New Bilibid penitentiary whose ranks may have quietly bolstered after the fallout of the congressional investigations into the illegal drug trade behind bars which eventually resulted in the detention of Sen. Leila de Lima died down.
What is new but not surprising is Bato’s announcement that he will lobby for the passage of the death penalty law as part of his confirmed run for the Senate next year.

Sadly, he won’t find any shortage of allies in Congress if he does secure a mandate from the people since most of them are aligned with the Duterte administration.

While his pro-death penalty stance won’t lack for public support, the fact that the administration has yet to secure across-the-board support from Congress which experienced a leadership overhaul that resulted in former president and now Pampanga lawmaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s assumption of the House leadership.

Though it won’t be hard to believe that she owes her present status to silent backing from the powers-that-be, the former president remains sensitive to the sentiments of the Catholic Church, a good number of whose leaders she actively courted for support during her presidency.

Regardless of Bato’s senatorial ambitions and drive to restore the death penalty, the possibility of capital punishment being reinstituted depends in large part to voter turnout and support in next year’s elections.

Congressional resistance to the administration’s radical measures to crack down on criminality especially their fixation on the illegal drug problem is still substantial even and perhaps especially after lawmakers were threatened with reduced, even zero pork barrel from its former House speaker. It’s up to the voters anew to decide if they are willing to reinstate the death penalty by voting for people like Bato.